1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a label having a region enabling re-application that is re-separable from an object of application after application and re-applicable to a different object of application. In particular, it relates to a label having a region for re-application and is suitable for an automatic label separator that mechanically and automatically separates a label main body from a strip-shaped backing liner by using a release plate.
2. Background Art
A courier label which is often used in package delivery may comprise a label having a region for re-application that is re-separable from an object of application after application to the object and that is re-applicable to a different object of application. The region for re-application may be used as a return label that indicates a destination address for returning, or as a tracking label for the courier company by applying the region for re-application to a different delivery document (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-191549 for example).
A conventional label having a region for re-application is described with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 hereof.
FIGS. 10(a)-(d) is an illustration of a structure of a conventional label having a region for re-application, in which (a) is a plan view, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y-Y′ shown in (a), and (c) and (d) are illustrative views explaining its usage. FIG. 11 is a perspective view explaining separating a label main body from a strip-shaped backing liner using a release plate in the label having a region for re-application.
Referring to FIG. 10(a) and FIG. 10(b), the conventional label having a region for re-application is configured as a strip-shaped backing liner 1 in a shape of a strip on which are applied label main bodies 2. Each body has a back surface on which an adhesive 3 is applied. The adhesive 3 is applied to the back surface of each label main body 2. The plurality of label main bodies 2 are temporarily attached to the strip-shaped backing liner 1 at predetermined intervals by the adhesives 3 applied to the back surfaces. Here, the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 10(b) is enlarged in a thickness direction for the sake of explanation.
Each label main body 2 is provided with regions for re-application 21 each enclosed by a label separation cutting line 4 in a closed state. The regions 21 are separable from the label main body 2 such that the regions for re-application 21 can be used, for example, as a return label indicating a destination address for returning and as a tracking label for the courier company.
Further, the strip-shaped backing liner 1 is provided with re-separation backing regions 11 each enclosed by a backing separation cutting line 5 in a closed state and the regions 11 are separable from the strip-shaped backing liner 1 such that each region 11 contains the corresponding region for re-application 21 provided for the label main body 2, that is, each region includes the corresponding region for re-application 21 therein and has an area wider than that of the region for re-application 21.
Referring to FIG. 10(c), the conventional label having a region for re-application as described above is used by separating the back surface of the label main body 2 from the strip-shaped backing liner 1 excluding the re-separation backing regions 11 to expose the adhesive 3, and applying the label main body 2 to which the re-separation backing regions 11 are temporarily attached to an object of application 6 by the exposed adhesive 3. After the application to the object of application 6, as shown in FIG. 10(d), the regions for re-application 21 can be re-applied to different objects of application by separating the regions for re-application 21 from the re-separation backing regions 11.
When applying a large quantity of conventional labels having a region for re-application, an automatic label separator that mechanically and automatically performs separation using a release plate 7 is used in separating each main body 2 from the strip-shaped backing liner 1 excluding the re-separation backing regions 11. See FIG. 11. Such an automatic label separator separates the label main bodies 2 from the strip-shaped backing liner 1 excluding the re-separation backing regions 11 by, as shown in FIG. 11, folding back the strip-shaped backing liner 1 using the release plate 7 and transferring only the strip-shaped backing liner 1 toward a downstream side indicated by an arrow.
However, with the conventional technique, when the regions for re-application 21 are provided in a wide range across a width direction that is perpendicular to the transfer direction, the re-separation backing regions 11 are naturally provided in a range wider than the corresponding regions for re-application 21 across the width direction, and a distance between the regions for re-application 21 and a side end becomes narrow. As this consequently reduces a tensile strength of the strip-shaped backing liner 1 from which the label main bodies 2 have been separated in the transfer direction when using the automatic label separator, there is a problem that the strip-shaped backing liner 1 can tear when transferring only the strip-shaped backing liner 1 that has been folded back using the release plate 7 to the downstream side.